Three English Department graduate students take home all three prizes for the Larry Morris Memorial Scholarship in 2019:
Doaa Omran, PhD Candidate Medieval Studies (1st place, $2,500)
Heather Johnson, MFA Creative Nonfiction (2nd place, $1,000)
Lydia Wassan, MFA Creative Nonfiction (3rd place, $500)
Go here for more information on their specific topics.
The Larry Morris Memorial Scholarship was dedicated in honor of Dr. Larry Morris, Senior Minister and co-founder of Hillside Community Church, who completed his undergraduate and doctoral degrees at the University of New Mexico. You can read his biography by clicking here. Larry told many stories of his university experiences from his unique spiritual perspective and maintained a relationship with the University of New Mexico, particularly with the English Department faculty who for many years read their poetry at the Hillside Church’s annual Christmas Eve service. Larry felt that the process of writing his dissertation, Charles Williams’ Novels and the Possibilities of Spiritual Transformation in the Twentieth Century(1978), contributed to his own spiritual unfoldment and insight. He continued to write spiritual and mystical poetry throughout his life.
This educational and travel scholarship is intended to encourage and support a graduate level academic project in the field of mystical or spiritual literature, through an annual award of $2,500. This project may be a scholarly analysis of an existing literary work(s) or an original creative work by the student (poetry, short story, book, etc.), or possibly a project to inspire and promote further inquiry into the field through travel and general reading/research. University of New Mexico graduate students majoring in the field of English Literature or any Language/Literature Department or area relevant to contemporary spirituality/mysticism with a GPA of 3.2 or above may apply. Outstanding upper division (Junior or Senior) undergraduates will also be considered. Preference will be given to a project that relates to late 20th Century or early 21st Century spirituality, or contemporary issues that impact spirituality. We invite the recipient of the scholarship to contribute a short article or essay for posting on this website on insights or perspectives gained in the academic year that is relevant to the subject matter.
